Day parole for mom who stabbed son, accountant who defrauded First Nation and man who killed friend

A Saskatoon mother who slit her six-year-old son’s throat in a bathtub during a custody dispute in 2013 has been denied full parole, but granted day parole following three months of unescorted temporary absences (UTAs).

The 36-year-old woman, who cannot be named in order to protect her son’s identity, was originally denied UTAs following a hearing in March 2017. The Parole Board of Canada ruled the proposed plan to visit family members over a 48-hour period lacked the necessary structure to protect the community.

However, last month she was granted both the absences and day parole.

“You have a firm grasp of your risk factors and an understanding of the contributing factors to your criminal offending. You are motivated to continue to access your mental health supports and other positive support systems in the community,” the board wrote in its decision, adding the woman’s successful reintegration will help protect the public.

The woman has special conditions not to have any contact with her two sons, who have expressed fear of further victimization.

In April 2016, she was sentenced to five and a half years after pleading down from attempted murder to aggravated assault. Her statutory release date is in December 2019.

Offenders serving determinate sentences are entitled to be released after serving two-thirds of their time. They are eligible to seek parole after serving one-third of their time.

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Hugo Gallegos.

Hugo Gallegos is almost done his most recent six-month stint on day parole, which was renewed following a review in September.

Gallegos stole $5.8 million from the Whitecap Dakota First Nation between 2009 and 2013 while he was the band’s senior accountant. He was sentenced in 2015 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to theft and fraud over $5,000 and laundering the proceeds of crime.

The board found there is nothing to suggest Gallegos’s risk has increased since he was first granted day parole in April 2017. The decision states Gallegos has been attending Gamblers Anonymous meeting for his gambling addiction and is banned from casinos while on release. He also can’t own or operate a business.

His statutory release date is in January 2019.

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Jake Ottertail

In 2010, Jake Austin Lee Ottertail viciously beat his roommate and friend, Bert Haverkort, to death in a drunken rage at their rented home in Saskatoon’s Caswell Hill Neighbourhood. He was sentenced three years later to 10 years in prison, minus a three-year remand credit, after a judge convicted him of manslaughter.

This month, the board ruled Ottertail will remain on day parole until his statutory release next month. He was granted day parole in January 2017.

The board indicated that while Ottertail has been working and completing programs over the last year, he has not demonstrated a “viable plan” for full parole.

While on day parole, he is not allowed to be around anyone involved in criminal activity and must stay away from drugs and alcohol — conditions that will remain in effect while he is on statutory release.